Thursday, August 25, 2005

Double Standard

Though all my regular readers are aware of how I deplore the use of Holocaust imagery in reference to the disengagement, I feel I must add a caveat to yesterday's post. Ze'ev, one of my readers, has pointed out that Shinui party chairman Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, a holocaust survivor himself, who has been quoted extensively as excoriating the settlers for using Holocaust imagery, has been quoted as using just those types of comparisons himself.Lapid's words yesterday:

"It is very sad that people exploit the name of the Holocaust for political ends."

Lapid's words about a year ago:

In stark and emotional language, Deputy Prime Minister Yosef Lapid… told Israeli radio that the country risked further international condemnation if the army continued its campaign of pursuing Palestinian gunmen, demolishing homes and expelling civilians from the heart of the populous Rafah refugee camp.

"On TV I saw an old woman rummaging through the ruins of her house looking for her medication, and it reminded me of my grandmother who was thrown out of her house during the Shoah," (or Holocaust).

I guess he must mean that "it is very sad when people exploit the name of the Holocaust for political ends" that don't jibe with his politics. Otherwise it's okay.

I actually don't agree with you on this Orthomom, although I am usually also opposed to use of Holocaust imagery for political purposes. Let me hasten to say that I often do not agree with Tommy Lapid politically and think he's said many offensive things in the past, so I'm not just going along with him because I agree with him. I've read other statements that he's made, usually fairly spontaneous, where he is making a comparison based on his own personal experiences during the Shoah. One statement I remember from several years ago had to do with Palestinian detainees who had their identity numbers marked on their arms by Israeli soldiers (and it's not only Palestinians who have these identity numbers - all Israelis do, and they appear on their identity cards, so it's not a discriminatory measure) - he was appalled by this and also said it reminded him of what the Nazis had done to the Jews. I think he's making these remarks based on his own experiences, rather than trying to make an overall political point. Perhaps he shouldn't - but I can understand why he does on a human level.